NFP Review Board approves Graphic Packaging site plan for 1400 Harrison Street with tree-protection conditions

The NFP Review Board voted to approve a site plan for a proposed wastewater treatment building at 1400 Harrison Street, conditioned on final site-plan approval, sign-off by the city stormwater engineer and addition of temporary tree-protection fencing in the plans.

Board members approved the motion by roll call with five affirmative votes and one recusal. A board member announced a recusal before the vote because they work for the firm that conducted the threatened and endangered species assessment for the site.

City staff and the project team described the site as a parcel owned by Graphic Packaging International located adjacent to the Kalamazoo River in a general manufacturing (M-2) zone. Presenters said the building would be roughly 33,000 square feet and that utilities would be routed on the south and west sides of the structure so construction would remain away from the river and the riparian trees.

A Graphic Packaging representative said the facility’s treatment system would use a three-stage filtration approach, including a primary filter of about 500 microns, and stated the system "will be a 98% reduction in plastics." The project team also described erosion-control measures (a graded swale routed to existing treatment structures) and a sediment-and-storm-control plan to limit runoff during construction.

The landscape architect said most frontage plantings were installed under a prior approval and that the proposal adds two native red maples to satisfy the zoning requirement of roughly one tree per acre for the additional area being altered. Staff noted a condition in the staff report requiring temporary tree-protection fencing and soil-erosion-control fencing along the eastern edge to help preserve riparian trees even where construction limits do not extend.

During questions, a board member asked about the limits of construction and tree protection; presenters pointed to the limits-of-construction line and said no grading will occur outside that area. Presenters gave the buffer from the river as roughly 180–188 feet in different slides; staff included tree-protection fencing as a formal condition to ensure impacts are mitigated.

Next steps include satisfying the stated conditions, completing full site-plan approval at the staff/administrative level, and receiving final review by the city stormwater engineer before construction permits are issued. The board’s motion passed on a roll-call vote.